Effect of tranquilization and anesthesia on high-resolution electrocardiographic indices of dogs in the chronic chagasic myocardiopathy

The effect of tranquilization and anesthesia on high-resolution electrocardiography (HRECG) indices of dogs in the undetermined chronic phase of Chagas' disease was studied. Eight adult female mongrel dogs were submitted to six protocols: group 1: animals not submitted to tranquilization or anesthesia; group 2: tranquilization with acepromazine; group 3: tranquilization with a combination of acepromazine and buprenorphine; group 4: general inhalatory anesthesia with isoflurane; group 5: general inhalatory anesthesia with sevoflurane; group 6: anesthesia with propofol. The animals were submitted to all protocols at an interval of 15 days between assessments. HRECG was performed in the time domain. Regarding the electrocardiographic parameters analyzed, no significant difference in the duration of the QRS complex or LAS40 was observed between groups. Similarly, the RMS40 remained unaltered. The noise level was significantly lower in the groups anesthetized with isoflurane, sevoflurane and propofol compared to the group not submitted to tranquilization or anesthesia. Anesthesia facilitated the HRECG recording without altering the electrocardiographic indices obtained.